thoughts from the trail

      What is the golden rule?’  And no, it is not the one that says that ‘he who has the gold makes the rules’, although that one is sadly quite true.  And it’s not: ‘do unto others before they can do it to you.’    It is ‘do to others as you would have them do to you.’ Matt. 7:12     Is this what we teach our kids?  Do we live this out in our workplaces and homes? 

   Notice that it doesn’t have any conditions attached either.  It’s not: treat others the way you want to b

thoughts from the trail

  Let me mention 4 things that will happen if we choose to live with grace and not with a self-righteous, hasty, critical, judgmental attitude.   

1. We will gain a greater appreciation for all of God’s gifts. The gift of salvation, the gift of life, gift of laughter, gift of music, gift of beauty, the gift of forgiveness.    Grace opens our eyes to all of that in a great way. 

  2. We will spend less time being critical of someone else’s choices.  It’s not that you don’t

thoughts from the trail

  Very seldom can we just sit back, fold our arms and say: ‘I’ve finished everything that I wanted to do’; but if you ever can, then come over to my house because I have a long list.    But Jesus could do that.  Jesus said on the cross: ‘It is finished’.    He had accomplished everything His Father had sent Him to do.

   He made the wonderful exchange now possible. On the cross He took what was ours so we might have what was His!  When Jesus cried out on the cross and asked

Thoughts from the trail

    The resurrection means we can be forgiven and transformed by the power of the resurrected Lord.   Sin and death need have no power over us.  The risen Christ lives in us day by day, enabling us to walk in victorious faith and obedience.   This is not behavior modification, that’s the best this world can do.    What Jesus can do goes far beyond that!   It is the living, transforming power of Jesus!    We have a new life in Christ.

        In 1887, twenty-two years after

thoughts from the trail

  In this tremendously popular passage in Matt. 6:25-34, Jesus is saying: don’t worry.  God will provide, He loves you and knows full well what you need to survive.   Jehovah Jireh- the Lord will provide. Gen. 22:14         What was David’s testimony on this?  He gives it in one of his songs, Ps. 37:25 – ‘I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.’  What does Paul say in Phil. 4:19- ‘My God will supply all yo

thoughts from the trail

   After my junior year of college, I joined about 30 other students for a Campus Crusade beach project in San Diego. We rented a motel about ½ block from the beach. We all got summer jobs but spent our evenings and weekends out on the beach or boardwalk sharing our faith with the people gathered there.  Although, it was interesting that for those few minutes when the sun actually was setting out over the Pacific Ocean, all conversations stopped and everyone watched the su

thoughts from the trail

  We live in a time where we see an increasingly aggressive war on children and the family. Our enemy knows that if he can capture the hearts and minds of the younger generations, he can capture the culture.  Sadly, he has been very successful by using many means, such as the secular education system, which purposely leaves God out but will allow other religious beliefs, lukewarm churches, lack of training in the homes, the anti-God media of every sort from TV to Hollywood

thoughts from the trail

  Happy New Year!    With a new year many people are more open to making positive changes in their lives.  Here are some possible areas where one might need a reset. 

   Is it time for a reset in your marriage?  And guys if you don’t think so, just ask your wife.  I have learned that apparently, everything is my fault.  (I am stretching things there!)  But guys, if you can handle it, take her out for coffee and ask her what are one or two things you can do to improve your m

Thoughts from the trail

     In the Christmas accounts, Joseph and Mary endure hassle after hassle all for the sake of the Baby. But notice something else; for every hassle, God provides help. He sends angels to explain what He’s doing. He enables them to get safely to Bethlehem and saves them a reservation in the stable. He sends the Wise Men bringing expensive gifts and money which could be used to finance their trip to Egypt when they have to flee from King Herod.  Over and over the story remi

thoughts from the trail

  All of us have stories we could tell about how someone at some time, hurt us; physically or emotionally, spiritually or financially; and some have been hurt in very serious ways.  In Matt. 5:43-48 Jesus gives us the stunning statement that as believers, we are to love even our enemies. We’re not to treat people the way our culture encourages us to do, which is to get even or hurt them back.

   Our enemy loves to come along and try to convince us to be bitter, upset and an

thoughts from the trail

  In Matt. 5:38-42, Jesus teaches ‘do not resist the one who is evil’ and applies it to 4 basic human rights as seen in four common offenses back then.    He is teaching the principle of non-retaliation. If someone says something mean to you, you are not free to grab a knife and stab them in the back or even to verbally stab them in the back.  

   He is saying, all that personal retaliation, cut it out.  Notice, when someone else was being hurt, Jesus stepped in to stop it

thoughts from the trail

    This may sound out of date but I want to recommend wholeheartedly that we seek to have a passion for honesty. Matt. 5:37   You probably already do, but let this then be a good reminder to always, just tell the truth.  There is something so refreshing to come across someone who says what they mean, with no attempts to spin it, no attempts to manipulate you or to try to make themselves look better than they really are such as by telling half-truths.

   Instead, we find di

Thoughts from the trail

     While there can be many more, here are three applications from Jesus’ little letter to the church in Philadelphia, which was in W. Turkey.               Rev. 3:7-13 

    1. Remember that God loves to use insignificant people and little churches to accomplish great things for God.  We’re called to be faithful to God’s calling on us.

 2. Look for the open doors, don’t complain about that other doors that used to be open are now closed or closing.  Jesus opens and closes d

thoughts from the trail

     Matt. 5:13-16    If we were to reduce to one word what these verses say about our function as believers, it could be the word: influence.  When we live according to those 8 beatitudes, we will influence the world in a good way.  When we seek to live out those 8 beautiful attitudes, we will be the salt of the earth and we will be lights in this world.

   What we do, how we live, what we say, influences the people around us, whether we like it or not, for better or for w

thoughts from the trail

Matt. 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”   

    It is important to understand that this great concept of mercy is seen throughout the Bible, from the beginning to the end. Hosea 6:6a says: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’    God over and over has had mercy on people and nations whom repeatedly did not deserve it; yet He showed mercy and requires us to extend mercy to others.

   Think of what this world would be like if there was no mercy. Who c